The seal was found by local resident Donald Melton, who went to check on a nearby road closure. In an interview with KARE 11 news, Melton described the encounter with the "pretty relaxed" animal.

I was a little dumbfounded. At first I had to think, "Do we have seals? We don't have seals."…I just wanted to get out and pet him, but I didn't want to mess with a wild animal either. I don't know what the trainers do at the zoo, but I just wanted to keep him safe.